Vehicle for cleaning streets



De@ 5, 1961 K, BREITHER 3,011,206

VEHICLE FOR CLEANING STREETS y Filed Nov. 13, 1957 INVENTOR /52/5/ara/xf' BY @MM f, 10Q/hf ATTORNEY United States rhe present inventionrelates to a road cleaning vehicle.

it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a newstreet-cleaning vehicle which facilitates an improved and more thoroughcleaning of streets, expecially when the dirt to be removed has dried upor become solidified. v

A further object of the present invention is to provide a newstreet-cleaning vehicleuwhich wets the vdirt or rubbish on the road,which sweeps thel dirt substantially to one point, and which then sucksup the dirt in its wet condition. v

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle forcarrying out the street-cleaning operation very economically despite theuse of large quantities of water for wetting the dirt on the road.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle or"the most functional design and the most effective weight distributionattainable.

An important feature of the present invention therefore consists in theprovision of a motor vehicle which is capable of first mixing the dirton the road with Water so as to form a watery mixture and then suckingup 'such mixture, for example, by drawing it into a collecting tankmounted on a motor vehicle.

According to another feature of the present invention, the waterymixture thus collected in the tank may then be separated within saidtank into solid particles and soiled water by allowing the solidparticles to settle in the vehicle tank by tgravity.

Another feature of the invention consists in the subsequent removal ofthe soiled water from the collecting tank, in thereafter against suckinganother quantity of watery mud mixture from the street into thecollecting tank and again separating the same therein into relativelysolid mud and soiled water, in continuing this operation until thecontainer is filled with relatively solid mud to a certain capacity, andin then removing the mud from the container.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a scrubbing andsweeping mechanism by means of which the muddy water, before it issucked up, is scrubbed off the street and guided to the suction devicewhich may be disposed, for example, in front of, laterally of, orV

behind the scrubbing and sweeping mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for permittingthesoiled water after Ithe solid dirt particles have been separatedtherefrom and preferably after having been cleaned by a filter, to beused againfor wetting the dirt on the road. It will thus be possible touse a relatively small quantity of fresh water or, in other words, tomake one filling of the fresh water container last for an extendedoperating period of the vehicle. Therefore, the term fresh wateremployed here does not indicate Vpure water only, but also water mixedwith mud. p l

Another important object of the present invention consists in designing,the street-cleaning vehicle in such a manner `that the center ofgravity of the entire tank structure containing the fresh-watercontainer and the container for the muddy mixture'remains eithersubstantially the same or varies but slightly no matter whetherthefresh-water container is filled and the mud container is empty or themud container is filled and the arent @f fresh lwater container isempty. For attaining this object, the tank may be designed so that thetwo containers therein overlap each other in the longitudinal directionof the tank, for example, by providing at least one diagonal orhorizontal partition inside of the tank which separates the tank intocontainers lying substantially one above the other. l

These, as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of thepresent invention, will be more apparent from the following detaileddescription thereof, particu* larly when read with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 illustrates a side view ofavehicle with a collecting tank thereon shown in cross section;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section of the tank taken along line 2 2 ofFIG. l;

FIG; 3 illustrates a plan view of the washing and sweeping mechanism;while FIG. 4 illustrates a similar plan view of a modification of thewashing and sweeping mechanism.

Referring tothe drawings, the street-cleaning vehicle according to theinvention consists of a truck having a chassis 10, and a tank 12 mountedthereon behind the drivers cab 11. By means of a partition 13 extendingdiagonally from a point near the upper front end of the tank to a pointnear` its lower rear end of the tank is divided into a front container14 substantially disposed underneath partition 13, and a rear container15, substantially disposed above the partition. The front container l14serves as a fresh-water container and is accessible, for example,through yan opening 16 at the top which may be provided with a suitablecover, while the rear container 15 serves as a mud container and is alsoprovided with an opening 17 which can be closed by a cover. v

A scrubbing or sweeping brush 18 is mounted on chassis 10 between thefront and rear wheels of the vehicle and, while the vehicle is beingdriven, this'brush 18 is rotated by suitable driving means, not shown,in the direction indicated by the arrow. In front of the rotary brush 18is a spraying or flushing mechanism which substantially consists of apipe 19 extending parallel to brush 18. This pipe 19 is connected to thefresh-Water container 14 by means of pipe 32 and through a plurality ofopenings along its length, sprays powerful jets of Water directly uponthe road Valong lthe entire length of the brush. The sweeping brush =18is mounted in the usual manner so as to extend at an oblique angle tothe direction of .travel of the vehicle. At the rear ends of andintermediate brush 18 and spray pipe 19, a suction device 20 is mountedon chassis 10 which is connected with the interior of the mud container15 by means of a pipe 2x1.

A vacuum or suction pump 22 ismounted in a separate compartment whichforms a recess in the fresh-Water container behind the drivers seat andmay, for example, be coupled to the engine of the vehicle. Pump 22 isconnected by means of -pipe 31 -to the inside `of mud container 15,which is sealed tightly toward the outside for maintaining a vacuumtherein. tends through pipe 21 to suction device 20.

On the rear Wall of-tank 12, av -ap 23 is hinged so as to swing upwardlyto permit the mud to berremoved from container .15. During the operationof lthe vehicle the flap is pressed tightly against the rear Wall oftank 12 by suitable, easily'released means, such as bolts or the like soas to seal container 15. The upper part of container -15 also contains adevice yfor emptying the soiled 'water therefrom. This device consistsof a pipe 27 which is mounted on a side wallv of container 15 so as tobe pivotable at 25 about a horizontal axis by means tof a handle 26 orthe like. yPipe 27 is connected to a hose 28 through which the muddyvwater may be con- This vacuum also exducted to a suitable place, forexample, a sewer or ditch.

At the beginning of the operation, the front container 14 is filled withfresh water, while the rear mud container 15 is empty. VInV this case,the center of gravity of the entire tank is located approximately at thepoint S1. During the operation of the vehicle, the fresh water isgradually drained from container i4 through the spraying or flushingmechanism 19 and thus sprayed upon the road where it becomes mixed withthe dirt on the road. The muddy water thus formed is conveyed diagonallyoutward by the rotary brush 1S in the direction of the arrow p andconducted :toward the suction device 20 at the outer end of brush 18 andfacing in the direction of rotation x. The muddy water is then sucked upby the suction device 20 and drawn into the mud container 15 by theeffect of the vacuum within the container.

The heavier mud particles will then settle inthe bottom section yof mudcontainer 15, as shown in FIGS. l and 2 at 29, while the lighter soiledwater will collect above the mud. The pivotable pipe 27 which serves fordraining the soiled water from container 15 is preferably ad` justed toa position in which its inlet opening will be disposed slightly abovethe level 3l. of the mud so that the soiled water 30 above the mud level3l may be drained 0E through hose 28 into a ditch, sewer, or the like,and the space within container l5 thus becoming empty will becomeavailable for receiving additional muddy water. The draining may beeffected by gravity or by means of a pump, for example, by `a suitableconnection to suction pump 22. Instead of providing `a manual control ofthe v drainage of the ywater from container 1S, the drainage may also becarried out automatically, for example, by means of a float with aninlet thereon which is connected to hose 28 and adjusts itself.

Due to the overlapping arrangement of the two contajners 14 and l5 andtheir separation by the diagonally inclined wall i3, the center ofgravity will shift only a relatively short distance during one completecycle of operation. Thus, while at Vthe beginning of the streetcleaningoperation, When the fresh water container 14 is full and mud containerl5 is empty, the center of gravity is located substantially at the pointS1, it will shift during the operation gradually toward the rear sothat, when the fresh Water container 14 is empty and the mud containerl5 is filled to its normal capacity, the `center of gravity will belocated substantially at the point S2. The weight distribution of thevehicle is preferably designed so that the distance between these twopoints S1 and S2 will be no larger than one-fifth to a maximum ofonefourth of the total length of the entire tank 12.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modification of the invention in which the rotarybrush is divided into two separate brushes, namely, a main brush 18a anda supplementary brush 13b at the outer end of brush 18a and coaxialtherewith. By rotating brush 18h at a different speed from that of brush18a, it is possible to conduct the muddy water still more effectivelytoward suction device 20 than by` means of a single brush.

Although not particularly illustrated in the drawings, the invention mayalso be modied by providing two rotary brushes at opposite obliqueangles relative to the direction of :travel of the vehicle, that is, ina V-shaped arrangement converging toward the rear, and rotatable inopposite directions to each other. The suction device 20 would then bemounted centrally between or behind the converging ends of the twobrushes.

Instead of merely draining and discarding the soiled water fromcontainer 15 after the same has become somewhat puried by the settlingof the solid mud particles toward the bottom of the container, thiswater may also be utilized again for washing the road. For this purpose,a suitable switching valve 36 is provided which permits either the freshWater remaining in container 14 or the soiled water from container 15 tobe used alone or to be mixed with each other before being passed tospraying device 19. In this event, it is advisable to provide filteringmeans 35 and to pass the soiled water therethrough so as to purify it asmuch as possible before it enters into the spraying device 19 so thatthe nozzle openings thereof will not become clogged- Although myinvention has been illustrated and described with reference to thepreferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it isin no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but is capable ofnumerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what l claim is:

l. A cleaning arrangement for cleaning dirt from a surface, comprisingin combination, wheeled supporting means movable in a predetermineddirection; means mounted on said supporting means for spraying fluidonto said surface to be cleaned; elongated sweeping means mounted onsaid wheeled supporting means and located in said predetermineddirection of movement behind the surface portion sprayed by saidspraying means, said sweeping means being arranged parallel to saidsurface and at an angle to said predetermined direction of movement soas to have in said direction a forward and a rear end, the mixture ofliquid and dirt being swept by said sweeping means duringmovement ofsaid wheeled supporting means in direction from said forward to saidrear end thereof and collecting at said rear end; and removing meansmounted also on said wheeled supporting means and located with itsreceiving portion in the region of said rear end of said sweeping meansfor removing therefrom the collected liquid-dirt mixture.

2.` A cleaning arrangement for cleaning dirt from a surface, comprisingin combination, wheeled supporting means movable in a predetermineddirection; meansy mounted on said supporting means for spraying fluidonto said surface to be cleaned; elongated sweeping means mounted onsaid wheeled supporting means and located in said predetermineddirection of movement behind the surface portion sprayed by saidspraying means, said sweeping means being arranged parallel to saidsurface and at an angle to said predetermined direction of movement soas to have in said direction a forward and a rear end, the mixture ofliquid and dirt being swept by said sweeping means during movement ofsaid wheeled supporting means in direction from said forward to saidrear end thereof and collecting at said rear end; and removing suctionmeans mounted also on said wheeled supporting means and located with itsreceiving portion in the region of said rear end of said sweeping means`for removing by suction therefrom the collected liquid-dirt mixture.

3. A cleaning arrangement for cleaning dirt from a surface, comprisingin combination, wheeled supporting means movable in a predetermineddirection; a container mounted on saidv supporting means for holding afluid; means mounted on said supporting means for spraying said fluidonto said surface to be cleaned; velongatedsweeping means mounted onsaid wheeled supporting means and located in said predetermineddirection of movement behind the surface portion sprayed by saidspraying means, said sweeping means being arranged parallel to saidsurface and at an angle to said predetermined direction of movement soas to have in said direction a forward and a rear end, the mixture ofliquid and dirt being swept by said ,sweeping means during movement ofsaid wheeled supporting means in direction from said forward to saidrear end thereof and collecting at said rear end; and removing meansmounted also on said wheeled supporting means and located with itsreceiving portion in the region of said rear end of said sweeping meansfor removing therefrom the collected liquid-dirt mixture. i

4.k A cleaning arrangement for cleaning dirt from a surface, comprisingin combination, wheeled supporting means movable in a predetermineddirection; means mounted on said supporting means for spraying lluidonto said surface to be'cleaned; elongated sweeping means mounted onsaid wheeled supporting means and located in said predetermineddirection of movement behind the surface portion sprayed by saidspraying means, said sweeping means being arranged parallel to saidsurface and at an angle to said predetermined direction of movement soas to have in said direction a forward and a rear end, the mixture ofliquid and dirt being swept by said sweeping means during movement ofsaid wheeled supporting means-n direction from said forward to saidrearend thereof and collecting at said rear end; a containermounted onsaid supporting means; and removing means mounted also on said wheeledsupporting means and located with its receiving portion in the'region ofsaid rear end of said sweeping means for removing therefrom the'collected liquid-dirt mixture, said removing means having a dischargingportion communicating with said container for discharging said mixtureinto said container.

5. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road surface duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; two containers on said frame; aushing conduit having one end connected to one of said containers and anopen end near said road surface for flushing the same with a liquid fromsaid one container so as to form a mixture of said liquid with saiddirt; elongated sweeping means mounted on said frame and extendingobliquely transversely of said predetermined direction behind thesurface portion ushed by said ilushing conduit for sweeping said mixturetransversely to one end of said sweeping means during said movement ofsaid frame; a suction conduit having one end communicating with theother one of said containers and another end open adjacent said end ofsaid sweeping means; and means for maintaining negative pressure in said,other container.

6. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road surface duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; two containers on said frame; aushing conduit having one end connected to one of said containers and anopen end near said road surface for ushing the same with a liquid fromsaid one container so as to form a mixture of said liquid with saiddirt; rotary brush means mounted on said frame and having an axis ofrotation extending obliquely transversely of said predetermineddirection behind the surface portion nshed by said ushing conduit forsweeping said mixture transversely to one end of said sweeping meansduring said movement of said frame; a suction conduit having one endcommunicating with the other one of said containers and another end openadjacent said end of said sweeping means; and means for maintainingnegative pressure in said other container.

7. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road sur-face duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; two containers on said frame andat least partly superimposed upon each other; a flushing conduit havingone end connected to one of said containers and an open end near saidroad surface for ushing the same with a liquid from said one containerso as to form a mixture of said liquid with said dirt; elongatedsweeping means mounted on ysaid frame and extending obliquelytransversely of said predetermined direction behind the surface portionflushed by said ushing conduit for sweeping said mixture transversely toone end of said sweeping means during said movement of said frame; asuction conduit having one end communicating with the other one of saidcontainers and another end open adjacent said end of said sweepingmeans; and means for maintaining negative pressure in said othercontainer.

8. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road surface duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; a tank on said vehicle frame; apartition in said tank so as to divide the same into two containers; aiiushing conduit having one end connected to one of said containers andan open end near said road surface for ushing the same with a liquidfrom said one container so as to form a mixture of said liquid with saiddirt; elongated sweeping means mounted on said frame and extendingobliquely transversely of said predetermined direction behind thesurface portion flushed by said flushing conduit forsweeping saidmixture transversely to one end of said sweeping means during saidmovement of said frame; `a suction conduit having one end communicatinglwith the other one of saidcontainers and another end open adjacent saidend of said sweeping means; and means for maintaining negative pressurein said other container. A Y

9. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road surface duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; a tank on said vehicle frame; anobliquely inclined partition in said tank so as to divide the same intoan upper and lower container; `a flushing conduit having one endconnected to said lower container and -an open end near said roadsurface for flushing the same with -a 'liquid from said lowerl containerso as to form a mixture of said liquid with said dirt; elongatedsweeping means mounted on said frame and extending obliquelytransversely of said predetermined direction behind the sur-face portionflushed by said ushing conduit for sweeping said mixture transversely toone end of said sweeping means-during said movement of said frame; asuction conduit having one end communicating with said upper containerand another end open adjacent said end of said sweeping means; and meansfor maintaining negative pressure in said upper container.

l0. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road surface duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; a tank on said vehicle frame; anobliquely inclined partition in said tank so as to divide the same into-an upper and lower container, said lower container being -arrangedforward of said upper container in said predetermined direction ofmovementfa flushing conduit having one end connected to said lowercontainer and -an open end near said road surfacel for ushing the samewith a liquid from said lower container so as to form a mixture of saidliquid with said dirt; elongated sweeping means mounted on said frameand extending obliquely transversely of said predetermined directionbehind the surface portion flushed by said flushing conduit for sweepingsaid mixture transversely to one end of said sweeping means during saidmovement of said frame; a suction conduit having one end communicatingwith said upper container and another end open adja-A cent said end ofsaid sweeping means; and means lfor maintaining negative pressure insaid upper container.

l1. A road cleaning vehicle 'for cleaning dirt from a road surfaceduring movement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicleframe movable in a predetermined direction; two containers on saidframe; a flushing conduit having one end alternatingly connectable toeither one and Iboth of said containers and an open end near said roadsurface for flushing the same with a liquid from said containers so asto form a mixture of said liquid lwith said dirt; elongated sweepingmeans mounted on said frame and extending obliquely transversely of saidpredetermined direction behind the surface portion flushed -by saidilushing conduit for sweeping said mixture transversely to one end ofsaid sweeping means during said movement of said frame; a suctionconduit having one end communicating with'one of said containers andanother end open adjacent said end of said sweeping means; and means formaintaining negative pressure in said one container.

12. A road cleaning vehicle Ifor cleaning dirt from a road surfaceduring movement of saidvehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicleframe movable in a predetermined direction; -two containers on saidframe; a ushing conduit having one end connected to one of saidcontainers and an open end near said road surface for flushing the samewith a liquid from said one container so as to :form a mixture of saidliquid with said dirt; elongated sweeping means mounted on said frameand extending ohliquely Atransversely of said predetermined directionbehind the surface portion flushed by said Hushing` conduit for sweepingsaid mixture transversely to one end of said sweeping means during saidmovement of said frame; a suction conduit having one end communicatingwith the other one of said containers and another end open adjacent saidend of said sweeping means; and a suction pump mounted on said vehicleframe for maintaining negative pressure in said other cont-ainer.

13. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt lfrom a road surfaceduring movement of said vehicle, comprising in combination, a vehicleframe movable in a predetermined direction; two containers on saidframe; a flushing conduit having one end connected to one of saidcontainers and an open end near said road surface for flushing the samewith a liquid from said one container so as to form a mixture of saidliquid with said dirt; elongated sweeping means mounted on said frameand extending obliquely transversely of said predetermined directionbehind the surface portion fiushed by said ushing conduit for sweepingsaid mixture transversely to one end of said sweeping means durin'gsaidmovement of said frame; a suction conduit having one end communieatingwith the other `one of said containers and another end open adjacentsaid end of said sweeping means; means for maintaining negative pressurein said other container for drawing said mixture through said suctionconduit into said other container; and a discharging conduitcommunicating with said other container at -a point spaced from thebottom thereof, whereby a mixture of dirt and water is drawn from saidroad surface into said other container and, upon settling of said dirtfrom said mixture, a supernatant liquid may be discharged through saiddischarging conduit.

14. A road cleaning vehicle for cleaning dirt from a road surface duringmovement of said vehicle, comprising -in combination, a vehicle framemovable in a predetermined direction; two containers on said frame; ailushing conduit having one end connected to one of said containers andan open end near said road surface for llushing the same with a liquidfrom said one container so as to form a mixture of said liquid with saiddirt; elongated sweeping means mounted on said frame and extendingobliquely transversely of said predetermined direction behindthe'surface portion ushed by said ushing conduit for sweeping saidmixture transversely to one end of said sweeping means during saidmovement of said frame; a suction conduit having one end communicatingwith the other one of said containers and another end open adjacent saidend of said sweeping means; means for maintaining negative pressure insaid other container for drawing said mixture through said suctionconduit into said other container; and a discharging conduitcommunicating with said other container at a point adjustably spacedfrom the 'bottom thereof, whereby a mixture of dirt and water is drawnfromsaid road surface into said other container and, upon settling ofsaid dirt from said mixture, a supernatant liquid may be dischargedthrough said discharging conduit.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

